Georgia Tech vs North Carolina: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Georgia Tech defeated a ranked North Carolina team for the third year in a row

Jackson Caudell | Oct 29, 2023

In this story:

What a wild night at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

For the third year in a row, Georgia Tech faced a ranked North Carolina team and for the third year in a row, Georgia Tech won. Brent Key continues to beat ranked ACC teams and Georgia Tech moves to 4-4 on the season.

There is plenty to break down about this game and let's do that right here with the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Georgia Tech won! A win is always good, especially one like this
Georgia Tech moved to 4-0 under head coach Brent Key against nationally ranked ACC opponents:

W, 26-21 at No. 24 Pitt – Oct. 1, 2022
W, 21-17 at No. 13/11 North Carolina – Nov. 19, 2022
W, 23-20 at No. 17 Miami (Fla.) – Oct. 7, 2023
W, 46-42 vs. No. 17 North Carolina – Oct. 28, 2023

Georgia Tech defeated a nationally ranked team at home for the first time since a 45-22 win over No. 21/20 North Carolina on Sept. 25, 2021 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Georgia Tech defeated a nationally ranked team at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field for the first time since a 28-22 win over No. 17 Virginia Tech on Nov. 11, 2017.
Georgia Tech’s 635 yards of offense were a season high (prev.: 578 vs. South Carolina State – Sept. 9).
Dontae Smith set a career-high with 178 rushing yards (prev.: 102 vs. Western Carolina – Sept. 10, 2022).
Brett Seither had a career-high two touchdown receptions (35 yards in the second quarter and 5 yards in the fourth quarter)
Eric Singleton Jr had a dominant first half, going for over 100 yards in the win
Haynes King threw for four touchdowns and nearly 300 yards
Georgia Tech averaged over eight yards per play
Georgia Tech was 8-13 on third down conversions
David Shanahan had a great night punting the ball (although he only punted twice)
Only three penalties tonight
Malik Rutherford catching two touchdowns was a great sight.
The 4th quarter was a masterpiece on offense

The Bad

The run defense was pretty rough most of the night. Georgia Tech surrendered 267 yards on the ground and gave up nearly six yards per carry
Only forced one turnover. The offense going nuclear masked the fact that Georgia Tech only was able to force North Carolina into one mistake, but it was a big one.
Only two sacks. The defense did a decent job against Drake Maye, but wa only able to get two sacks.

The Ugly

Georgia Tech surrendered 577 yards to North Carolina's offense. It has been ugly for most of the year for the Yellow Jackets on that side of the ball and it continues to be that way. They got stops when they needed, but it has been tough to watch at times.
Defense gave up eight yards per play
UNC was 9-15 on third down
The red zone defense was also poor. North Carolina was 5-5 with five touchdowns in the red zone

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